How can I come to love and honor Mary! I mean, I never encountered this back in my Protestant-times if you will! I mean, it feels new to me and how can I do this? I have the desire to but how can I do this without feeling confused and all?

You’re not alone. I’m a convert from Southern Baptist. I also know some other former protestants that have converted. We’ve all had that same problem. I’ve been in the Church since last May, and I’m just beginning to acquire a feeling toward Mary. Scott Hahn has a book called “Hail Holy Queen” . I found that useful, because it describes the basis for the Marian beliefs. Understanding that helped me to begin to see why Catholics feel about Mary the way they do. Stick in there. With former protestants, Mary is generally not a case of love at first sight. It generally takes a bit of time and familiarity for former protestants to begin to love her.

I, too, am a former protestant, and the first steps I took in overcoming my protestant aversion to the Mother of our Lord was in learning first what the Church teaches about Mary and why the Church venerates her. Secondly, I became friends with a person whose love for Christ was unmistakable and impressive to me. This person also had a tremendous devotion to Our Lady. I saw that loving one does not mean dismissing the other. Third, once I was finally received into the Church and received the Eucharist, my own relationship with Christ strengthened, and I no longer saw loving Mary as a threat to my love for Christ. Finally, I have personally experience many graces as a result of her intercession.

How can I come to love and honor Mary! I mean, I never encountered this back in my Protestant-times if you will! I mean, it feels new to me and how can I do this? I have the desire to but how can I do this without feeling confused and all?
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You could start Devotion to the United Hearts of Jesus and Mary.
Another way to honour Mary is to honour Jesus, because that is really all Mary wants all your love to go to Him,--------- inspite of what others may tell you.

How can I come to love and honor Mary! I mean, I never encountered this back in my Protestant-times if you will! I mean, it feels new to me and how can I do this? I have the desire to but how can I do this without feeling confused and all?
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there are all types of revelations… some require faith in things we cannot touch or see or here… there are those that had no Jesus Christ, or anything to do with christianity all their lives and they believed, maybe one step at a time… but they opened their minds and most importantly their hearts and came to believe…

hang in there and pray… i promise you, one day you will look up and wonder what all the hub bub was about…

How can I come to love and honor Mary! I mean, I never encountered this back in my Protestant-times if you will! I mean, it feels new to me and how can I do this? I have the desire to but how can I do this without feeling confused and all?
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Paris Blues,
I recommend a free book and course from The Catholic Home Study Service called “Mary, Christ’s Mother and Ours” by Fr. Oscar Lukefahr. this book was pretty much responsible for my return to the faith after 34 years away…and it’s all about Mary and what we really believe about her and why. You can get more info on it here: amm.org/chss/chss.htm
Once you get into it…it’s a lot better than you expect and makes so much better sense.
Pax vobiscum,

I am also in RCIA. And I also may not be able to take Holy Communion for awhile.

What has worked for me:

(a) Learn the “Hail Mary” prayer

(b) Last July, I started praying each night just before going to sleep. First I prayed the “Lord’s Prayer”. Then I prayed the “Hail Mary” ten times. Then I finished by praying the “Lord’s Prayer”.

After only a few nights, I began to see much more about Mary. On July 10, 2004, I wrote:Mary is the first and primary New Testament example. A Christian who is obedient to God’s Will gets precious rewards. When Protestants toss out Mary, they toss out so much. I never saw this before (instead I looked away from Mary because it is counter to my Protestant teaching). But I am confident that to early Christians (who knew the Hebrew Scriptures well) Luke chapters 1 and 2 made it obvious that Mary was the Arc of the New Testament. Whereas in ancient times the Hebrew children kept treasures resulting from their obedience to God in the Arc of the Old Covenant - Luke 2:19, “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” - the New Testament has Mary Mother of Jesus and her Baby our Lord. And Mary is an example to us, to obey God, to let Christ live in us, to receive His blessings, and to focus our hearts on heavenly things where our treasure is. Mary shows us that even in this earthly life we have a powerful foretaste of heaven if we obey God and open our hearts to the treasures He wants to give us. Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” Mary shows us to meditate and to reflect on our heavenly treasure. It is obvious from the Old Covenant example with the Hebrew children that these treasures are to be shared with our children so that they may also learn.
So now it is six months later. And what more do I know?

I know that Mary is the Immaculate Conception.

I know that Mary was assumed into heaven (when Moses died, his body was taken by the archangel Michael to heaven – see Jude verse 9 and note that Jude quotes from the Jewish book “the Assumption of Moses”). Why would God leave Mary’s body hear on Earth? When we know and He knew that the devil would want to do such evil with it (the devil wanted to do something evil with Moses’s body).

I know that Mary is the Queen of Heaven.

I just prayed a Novena to Our Lady of Lourdes. My prayers really were heard.

I had also prayed for the grace to want to learn more about Mary’s virtues. And that prayer also was heard.

My priest says that 95% of the questions that parishioners ask in his office would be solved with sufficient prayer.

[quote=Paris Blues]When you prayed the “Hail Mary”, did you hold a Rosary? I got a Rosary for Christmas and have no clue how to hold it right. LOL!

Can you still say 10 “Hail Marys” without praying the whole entire thing? Do you always have to hold a Rosary?
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You do not always have to hold a Rosary. Early last July I was only using my fingers to keep track of the Hail Marys.

Since you have a Rosary, have a priest bless your Rosary some time. Sometimes I go to RCIA class early if I have something I want to get blessed. Or after Mass (when the Priest is outside greeting people). Or leave it at your Church office and pick it up later.

There are different ways to pray with a Rosary.

(A) To pray one decade (10 Hail Marys), start at one of the middle places between any two groups of ten beads. Hold that spot of the Rosary between your forefinger and your thumb. And at the same time loosely hold part of the rosary by curling the other fingers of the same hand. Allow the rest of the rosary to freely dangle. Pray the “Our Father”. Then while you still hold the rosary with your other fingers, reach with your finger and thumb to the first of the 10 beads. Once you have grasped that bead, briefly loosen the other fingers to allow the rosary to advance. Pray the “Hail Mary” for each of the ten beads. After the 10th Hail Mary you grasp the next middle place. Pray the “Glory Be” (if you know that prayer) and pray another “Our Father”. That is it. Praying one decade.

When I started to pray the Rosary, it seemed very confusing. I suppose the best way to begin is to skip anything you don’t know. I still don’t have the Apostle’s Creed memorized. So I skip over it. I skip the Fatima prayers. I used to also skip the Rosary Mysteries because I didn’t know them either.

It is fine to start praying the Rosary by just doing one decade each day. The best time to do the “one decade” is either the very first moment that you wake up, or the very last moment of the day before you fall asleep. But if that isn’t practical, any other time will do.

(B) Sometimes when I pray (not praying the Rosary), I just hold it in one hand. Sometimes I hold my hands together in prayer and have the rosary between my palms.

Read your Church bulletin. They probably have a prayer group that meets once in a while to pray the Rosary. Why not bring your Rosary and go sometime when they meet? Praying the Rosary in a group can be easier than praying alone.

Note: a good mother is always there when her baby is learning to walk – and she rejoices greatly when the baby takes its first step(s). Mary is a good mother. So when you are starting to pray the Rosary, just realize that Mary is nearby and watching.

Hey Paris…first off…your enthusiasm is contagious, I love it. Secondly, first I would learn the proper way to say the rosary. I recommend you download this Virtual Rosary from www.virtualrosary.org/ as it will help you say it properly. It’s not so much that you are saying one our father, 10 hail mary’s, etc…because if the Rosary is done properly, you won’t even notice the actual prayers you are saying…and by the way, saying the entire rosary takes 17 minutes.

I just finished reading a book called The Mother of God and Her Glorious Feasts by Fr.H. O’Laverty, B.A. This book was unbelievable! It helped me understand and appreciate the sufferings endured by Mary as well as the efficacy of her grace and the power of her prayers. After you read the book, you’ll want to offer great devotions in her honor.

How can I come to love and honor Mary! I mean, I never encountered this back in my Protestant-times if you will! I mean, it feels new to me and how can I do this? I have the desire to but how can I do this without feeling confused and all?
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Paris,

Blessed Mary is an important part of our Christian Faith. We owe much to Blessed Mary for what she has both done for and given us. Remember first what she has done for you.

I suggest you do not force Blessed Theotokos (Mary) upon yourself. Just sit down and read all of the Scripture passages that talk about her and her works for us. Reflect on these passeges and spend time with them. After you have read them just turn off all the lights in your house and light a candle in front of a picture or statue of Blessed Mary holding her Son, the Son of God. You can do a similar thing too inside your church or chapel. Close your eyes and just talk to her. Do not pray to her or try to pray the rosary. Simply talk to her. Thank her for her gift to you and all of us. Thank her for saying ‘yes’.

As a Christian Blessed Mary is very important in our Faith. But, there is not now, nor has there ever been a mandate to pray to her to be Catholic. If you do not feel comfortable about venerating, honoring and praying to Blessed Mary then don’t. Faith should be free. Yes Jesus tells us to do things in order to be justified for salvation, but praying to Blessed Mary is not a command, it is a gift.

Do you talk to God? Do you talk to other Saints like Kephas, Stephen, Paul, etc… When was the last time you thanked St. Stephen, our first known martyr for his sacrifice for our Faith? Do we have to pray to God all the time or can we just sit down with nothing but candle for light, and talk to Him?

Talk to Blessed Mary and let her come to you. Someday you may be ready to pray to her. But remember, you can allways just sit back and talk to God and/or His Saitnts. Sometimes talking to them is great. Why must we allways beg God for stuff? Sometimes we can just thank Him or tell Him how wonderfull it was to just hold our newborn kids in our arms or what a grea time we had on vacation.

[quote=Smilnirish]I just finished reading a book called The Mother of God and Her Glorious Feasts by Fr.H. O’Laverty, B.A. This book was unbelievable! It helped me understand and appreciate the sufferings endured by Mary as well as the efficacy of her grace and the power of her prayers. After you read the book, you’ll want to offer great devotions in her honor.
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True, and Simeon the old man in the Temple foretold Marys sufferings, if we were heartbroken watching the Passion, how much more was Marys, being there at the real thing.
This is why the Church sometimes calls Mary the mother of Sorrows,because true to what Simeon said, Marys soul & heart were definately peirced.

How can I come to love and honor Mary! I mean, I never encountered this back in my Protestant-times if you will! I mean, it feels new to me and how can I do this? I have the desire to but how can I do this without feeling confused and all?
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It takes time. I am a convert myself and it took me a while. I conveted about 7 years ago. I haven’t missed saying my daily Rosary in about 5 or 6 years, and it has only been recently that I feel a pretty strong devotion to Mary. It takes time and we just have to wait for it to develope.

One thing I sometimes do, is, when I am doing my rosary meditations on the sorrowful mysteries, I try to see the events through Mary’s eyes… kind of like I am Mary looking at what is happening to my son. That helps me with the meditations and it may also have helped in developing devotion towards her.

I would also suggest that you don’t worry if it seems as if your devotion towards Mary is not increasing. Just continue with your daily Rosary, and ask God to help you love Mary the way He does. As far as when your devotion increases, leave that up to God. Just continue saying your rosary and going to the sacraments. Weekly confession is a great habit to get into.

How would you go about it if you had met a young lady, fallen in love, asked her to marry you, and were now getting ready to meet her mother. What would you say? How would you conduct herself? Would you not talk about what you have in common–you both love her daughter? Think about getting to know Mary in that way.

I think there is much wisdom in the advice that to love some one better, it helps to know them better. Catherine of Siena (among others) said this in terms of our relationship to God, but I think it is true of every one and almost every thing.

Rrealize the improtance that Mary played in Jesus’ life. Yes, he was of divine nature, but he was alos of human nature. St. Gerturde, an early German mystic and stigmatist, wrote about visions she recived in which she heard advice from Jesus and to a lesser extent his mother, Mary. In one of them she hears Jesus tell her about the role of obedience in life, and how Mary is to be honored for the role she played in cultivating that vital virtue for him.

Think of Mary’s wonderful example for us as a role model in somany aspects of life, which are prominantly demonstrated through the Joyful mysteries:

The Annuciation: Her willingness to accept her role in God’s plan for salvation, with little regard to the social stigmatism that she might have been vulnerable to as a single pregnant woman form a religious family - she had complete faith that God would help her; a model of faith and trust in God during times of uncertainty and challenge

The Visitation: Her eagerness to run to the side of her cousin Elizabeht, when she heard that she was pregnant to offer her help and support; even thought she just received the most improtant mission assignment of any human - and even if she were not carrying the son of God, the pregnancy particualrly with a first child is a period of worry and conern for one self for many human beings; a model of unhesitant charity, even in circumstances that might cause her anxiety about her own future

The Nativity: The act of giving birth to Jesus (bringing forth the new convenant) in perhaps less than ideal surroundings of comfort and assistance; Catherine of Siena received a revelation that notes that the fact that she gave birth while traveling is a sign for us that seeking Christ is a continual journey for us; a model of seeking and knowing Christ so that we can represent him to the world and the people we meet again and agian throughout our life

The Presentation of the Child Jesus at the Temple: Giving thanks to God for what he gives us and offering all our actions to him; model of gratitude for our talents (thank God for all his gives us to dol even that which we may not ahve realized yet) and seek his blessings and guidance for the role that we can play in His plan for the world

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple: There was a wonderful thread on this site a few weeks ago on this topic about many interpretations of how Mary must have experienced great anxiety in looking for God, how the event prefigured the time that Christ would spend in the tomb; model of how even the great may temporarily lose sight of God (although this must not have happened in Mary’s heart because it was the heart of his mother) and how if we search, we will find him again…and a good place to search for him is in the Church; giving gratitude gian for recovered gifts, especially our loved ones

I would also recommend The Glories of Mary by Alfonso Liguori (a doctor of the Catholic church), which is about the virtures of Mary and the role she palyed in God’s plan for our slavation.

Any Friend of God is a Friend of Mine, by Patrick Madrid is an excellent resource too, about the doctrine of communion of saints, its biblical roots, and has a chapter on Mary.

Both books are available from Amazon.

Stories of Marian apparitions approved by the church might help you too. Those Who Saw Her is a great colelction of short chapters on apparitions that the church approved, including Fatima and Lourdes, and brief summaries of messages she gave of her love for the world and instructions on how to please her son.